River Mole
River Mole | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | England |
Counties | West Sussex, Surrey |
Districts / Boroughs | Horsham, Crawley, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, Elmbridge |
Towns | Crawley, Horley, Dorking, Leatherhead, Cobham, Surrey, Esher, Walton-on-Thames, Hersham |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Baldhorns Copse |
• location | Rusper, Horsham, West Sussex |
• coordinates | 51°7′30″N 0°16′26″W / 51.12500°N 0.27389°W |
• elevation | 105 m (344 ft) |
• coordinates | 51°24′4″N 0°20′21″W / 51.40111°N 0.33917°W |
• elevation | 6 m (20 ft) |
Length | 80 km (50 mi) |
Basin size | 512 km2 (198 sq mi) |
Discharge | |
• location | Esher |
• average | 5.43 m3/s (192 cu ft/s) |
• minimum | 1.00 m3/s (35 cu ft/s)(9 August 1993) |
• maximum | 99.9 m3/s (3,530 cu ft/s)(9 December 1994) |
Discharge | |
• location | Castle Mill, Dorking |
• average | 3.74 m3/s (132 cu ft/s) |
Discharge | |
• location | Kinnersley Manor, Sidlow |
• average | 2.21 m3/s (78 cu ft/s) |
Discharge | |
• location | Horley |
• average | 1.40 m3/s (49 cu ft/s) |
Discharge | |
• location | Gatwick Airport |
• average | 0.33 m3/s (12 cu ft/s) |
The River Mole is a
The Mole crosses the
During the second half of the 20th century,
The river has captured the imagination of several authors and poets,[7] particularly since in very hot summers the river channel can become dry between Dorking and Leatherhead, most recently in 2022.[8] In John Speed's 1611 map of Surrey, this stretch of the river is denoted by a series of hills accompanied by the legend "The river runneth under". However the river's name is unlikely to have derived from this behaviour: The Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names suggests that Mole either comes from the Latin mola (a mill) or is a back-formation from Molesey (Mul's island).[9] Domesday Book lists twenty mills on the river in 1086, of which Sidlow Mill was the oldest, dating from Saxon times.[10][11]
Catchment area
The drainage area of the Mole is 477 km2 (184 sq mi) and forms 5% of the
Course
Upper Mole
The Mole rises in Baldhorns Copse 700 m (0.4 mi) to the south of the village of Rusper in West Sussex. It flows initially southwards for 1 km (0.6 mi) to a small lake at Baldhorns Park, before running eastwards through a largely rural area towards Crawley.[13] The first tributaries to join the young river drain the northernmost part of St Leonard's Forest, between Horsham and Crawley, although much of the forest is in the catchment area of the River Arun. The Mole skirts the northern suburbs of Crawley where it is joined by its first major tributary, Ifield Brook, which drains Ifield Mill Pond.
The first
The Mole enters Surrey to the south of Horley, where it meets the Gatwick Stream, a tributary draining Worth Forest to the southeast of Crawley. The second-largest Sewage Treatment Works (STW) in the Mole catchment is located on the Gatwick Stream 3 km (1.9 mi) upstream of the confluence with the Mole: Crawley STW discharges 15,000 m3 (530,000 cu ft) of water per day, and in prolonged dry periods it accounts for up to 75% of the flow of the Mole downstream of the confluence.[17] The mean flow measured at Horley gauging station (52 m [171 ft] above OD) is 1.40 m3/s (49 cu ft/s).[12]
The Mole passes Horley to the west, flowing north towards Sidlow and entering a largely rural area. 0.7 km (0.4 mi) south of Sidlow the mean flow is measured as 2.21 m3/s (78 cu ft/s) at Kinnersley Manor gauging station (48 m [157 ft] above OD).[12] The Earlswood Brook, a tributary draining the urban area of Reigate and Redhill, joins the Mole at Sidlow. The largest STW in the Mole catchment (Reigate STW) discharges up to 118,500 m3 (4,180,000 cu ft) per day into the Earlswood Brook.[note 2]
From Sidlow, the Mole turns northwest towards
Mole Gap
Between Dorking and
The course of the river through Norbury Park was partially straightened when the
Lower Mole
At Leatherhead, the Mole leaves the chalk and turns northwestwards to flow across impermeable
From Painshill Park the river flows northeastwards to the Thames, passing to the west of
Prior to the
Ecology
Water quality
Standard water quality of Mole and its tributaries has improved markedly since the 1990s. In 1990 the Environment Agency assessed 23% of the watercourses as Grade B (good) or better. In 2002 this figure was 60%.[1] Investment in the Sewage Treatment Works in the catchment area has improved the quality of the discharges into the river,[1] and modifications to the runway and apron drainage systems at Gatwick Airport mean that surface water is diverted to aerated pollution control lagoons and balancing ponds for treatments, including acid/alkali neutralisation, before release into the river.[29]
In 1972 a sub-debate on the future cleanliness of the Mole was had by the House of Lords, involving a member of the South-East Strategic Committee of the Thames Conservancy (succeeded by the Environment Agency) and four others. In this it was said, "...I can see no future for [The Mole]. The Mole Valley has been polluted. The Mole where I used to tickle trout in my youth is a drain, and it will remain a drain." Rebuttals included that the Mole is a "charming Surrey steam" and "If Lord Lytton went to fish in the River Mole – and there are still angling clubs there – he would find that he would still be able to catch a trout".[30]
Highly polluting discharges have become less common but have taken place since 2000. In 2003, Gatwick Airport Ltd pleaded guilty to charges of allowing chemical pollution to enter the River Mole after a detergent, used to clean rubber and oil from the runway, was washed into Crawters Brook by airport workers.[31] The Environment Agency estimated that up to 5200 fish of 14 different species were killed as the pollution drained downstream. The airport was fined £30,000 by Lewes Crown Court.[32] In May 2003, sewage leaking from a pump operated by Thames Water leaked into the Stanford Brook, killing coarse fish in the Gatwick stream.[33]
Water quality of the River Mole in 2019:
Section | Ecological Status |
Chemical Status |
Overall Status |
Length | Catchment | Channel |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mole (Horley to Hersham)[34] | Moderate | Fail | Moderate | 60.133 km (37.365 mi) | 151.017 km2 (58.308 sq mi) | |
Mole (Hersham to R. Thames conf at East Molesey)[35] | Moderate | Fail | Moderate | 9.507 km (5.907 mi) | 21.803 km2 (8.418 sq mi) | Heavily modified |
Biodiversity
The
The River Mole has the most diverse fish population of any river in England.
In the Mole Gap between Dorking and Leatherhead the river supports populations of chub, dace,
The geographical distribution of many species of
A nationally scarce species which is locally common on the River Mole is the greater dodder (Cuscuta europaea), a parasitic plant.[36]
Conservation
The Mole
The stretch of river between Thorncroft Manor (1 km [0.6 mi] south of
The West End Common forms part of the
Molesey Heath Local Nature Reserve lies on the west bank of the Mole, west of the Island Barn Reservoir. The Heath is an area of rough scrubland and, despite its name, is a reclaimed landfill site hence its large but artificial mound and small plateau. The site is a rich habitat for birds including the redshank and little ringed plover.[45]
Geology
Upper Mole
The Mole rises south of Rusper in West Sussex, where an outcrop of the Hastings Beds sandstone dips below the impermeable Weald Clay.[6] From the source to Dorking, the river drains an area of 340 km2 (130 sq mi), of which approximately 60% is on Wealden or Atherfield Clay, 20% is on Tunbridge Wells Sand and 20% is on greensand.[2] Brickearth deposits are common in the valley around Betchworth and east of Dorking.[46]
The upper Mole catchment is dominated by a single broad terrace, which runs continuously from
Mole Gap
Between Dorking and Leatherhead the Mole cuts a steep-sided valley through the North Downs, creating a 170-metre-high (560 ft) river cliff on the western flank of Box Hill. The bedrock is permeable chalk and the water table lies permanently below the level of the riverbed, allowing water to drain out of the river through swallow holes in the bed and banks.[47] The amount of water lost from the river is significant and in very hot summers the channel can become dry between Mickleham and Thorncroft Manor; this was recorded most recently in 1949,[48][49] 1976[50] and 2022.[8][51][52] At Leatherhead, the river leaves the chalk and flows across impermeable London Clay. At this point, the water table rises enough for the water to flow back into the main river channel.[47]
In a survey in 1958, the geologist C. C. Fagg identified 25 active swallow holes between Dorking and
The author
...the current of the river being much obstructed by the interposition of those hills, called Box Hill ... it forces the waters as it were to find their way through as well as they can; and in order to do this, beginning, I say, where the river comes close to the foot of the precipice of Box-Hill, called the Stomacher, the waters sink insensibly away, and in some places are to be seen (and I have seen them) little channels which go out on the sides of the river, where the water in a stream not so big as would fill a pipe of a quarter of an inch diameter, trills away out of the river, and sinks insensibly into the ground. In this manner it goes away, lessening the stream for above a mile, near two, and these they call the Swallows.
— Daniel Defoe (1724)[58]
Not all of the water removed from the river by the swallow holes is returned to the channel at Leatherhead. The chalk aquifer also feeds the springs at the southern end of Fetcham Mill Pond, which have never been known to run dry.[47] A survey in March 1883 estimated that the Fetcham springs were producing about 3.6 million imperial gallons (16,000 m3) every day.[59] A second survey in 1948 estimated that the same springs were yielding about 5 million imperial gallons (23,000 m3) a day.[60] The water table in the chalk of the Wey Gap is significantly higher than might be expected from natural rainwater percolation alone. It has been suggested that a proportion of the excess water originates from the Mole Gap.[61]
Lower Mole
At Leatherhead the river leaves the chalk bedrock, moving onto London Clay.[62] The river meanders across an alluvial plain between 400 and 800 m (440–870 yd) wide towards Cobham, where it begins to descend to a lower flood plain, which broadens as the river turns in an axehead meander. At the east end of Painshill Park, the flood plain narrows into a trench about 60 m (66 yd) wide, in which the river runs northwards for 6.5 km (4.0 mi) towards Hersham, where the river enters the flood plain of the River Thames.[2]
Between Cobham and Esher, the Mole's historic courses have deposited gravel on top of the London Clay.[63] The depth of the deposits generally varies from 2.5 to 7 m (8–23 ft);[64] the lower layers are generally highly compacted and cemented together with brick-red iron oxide, whereas the upper layers are loosely packed with angular flints and sand.[65] Remains of a further gravel terrace, containing cherts and flints to a depth of 4 m (13 ft), line the east side of St George's Hill.[64]
History
Etymology
The river is first recorded in the Red Book of Thorney in AD 983 as Emen and in the AD 1005 Cartulary of the Abbey of Eynsham as both Emen and Æmen.[66][67] Variations in the name are recorded throughout the Middle Ages and the river appears as Amele in the Domesday Book of 1086, and subsequently as Emele in 12th- and 13th-century Court Rolls.[68] This name is probably derived from the Old English word æmen meaning misty or causing mists,[67] and the name of the River Ember probably has its origins in this name.[68][69][70][note 7]
The name Mole does not appear until the 16th century, first occurring as Moule in
Archaeology
In common with much of the rest of the Weald, the earliest evidence of human settlement along the Upper Mole is from the Mesolithic Period (20,000–7000 BC). Mesolithic sites at Wonham, Flanchford and Sidlow. Finds at Wonham include arrowheads and a plano-convex knife.[72] The Lower Mole appears to have been settled during the same period and a flint axe dating from Mesolithic period found on spit of land close to River Mole in Cobham in 1965.[73] Remains of a flat-bottomed dug-out canoe were found at the confluence of the Mole and Thames in 1877 by a local boatman. The canoe is preserved at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford.[74]
The Mole Gap and North Downs do not appear to have been settled until the late Stone Age: A large axe, typical of a "rough-out" axe produced during the Neolithic period, which was discovered in 1952 during building work in Westhumble,[75] A flint mine of the same period has been discovered at East Horsley along with Neolithic flakes of flint at Fetcham and Headley Heath.[76]
Significant Bronze Age finds include a bronze sword found close to the river north of Amberley Farm near Charlwood[77] and a small hoard of weaponry consisting of two palstave axes and a scabbard chape was discovered in 2003 in Norbury Park close to Ham Bank.[78]
It is not clear to what extent the Mole was used for navigation in the past: In the late 13th century, Thorncroft Manor (south of Leatherhead) purchased a shout, a type of boat up to 16 metres (52 ft) in length used to carry produce to market[79] and it has been suggested that stone cut from quarries in Reigate was transported to London via the river.[80]
During the 17th century, two bills came before parliament to make sections of the river
In 1798 William Marshall advocated the canalisation of a short stretch of the River Mole between Betchworth and Dorking to facilitate the movement of chalk from quarry to market.[83] In 1810 the engineer John Rennie proposed a canal linking the River Medway to Portsmouth which was to have a branch to London following the Mole for much of its length.[81] Between 1825 and 1828 the architect and civil engineer Nicholas Wilcox Cundy proposed a Grand Imperial Ship Canal from Deptford to Chichester passing through the Mole Gap, however he was unable to attract sufficient financial interest in his scheme.[84]
Today the Mole is navigable for the 400 m (440 yd) from the confluence with the
Second World War defences
During the
The river crossing at Sidlow Bridge was heavily defended and a line of pill boxes was constructed on the north bank of the river. Concrete anti-tank dragon's teeth were built on both sides of the river, a short distance upstream of the bridge, as an obstacle to armoured vehicles.[89]
Crossings of the Mole
Mole Gap
The
When the Burford Bridge was rebuilt in 1937, excavations revealed a "flint-surfaced approach to [a] ford at low level having all the signs of Roman workmanship" suggesting that Stane Street (which ran from London to Chichester via Dorking) crossed the river at this point.[91] In Defoe's time, there was a footbridge at this point, but carts and waggons had to cross the river by a ford.
Leatherhead
There are three
A few metres downstream of Leatherhead Bridge stands the Grade II listed railway viaduct which carries the
The single-span Shell Bridge stands in the grounds of Thorncroft Manor, to the south of the Town Centre.
Cobham
A wooden bridge is thought to have existed on the site of Cobham Bridge since the 12th century, the upkeep of which was the responsibility of the adjacent landowners. The present bridge was constructed by George Gwilt in 1792, after responsibility for maintenance had been transferred to the county council by Act of Parliament.[10] The bridge has nine low arches and is primarily built of red brick with stone coping. The parapets were rebuilt in 1914 and the structure was given a Grade II listing in 1953.[98]
List of crossings of the River Mole (from mouth to source) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Grid Reference | Type | Road/Railway | Notes |
Confluence with River Thames | TQ156683 | East Molesey, Surrey | ||
Hampton Court Railway Station | TQ155683 | Railway | Hampton Court Branch Line | [99][100] |
Hampton Court Way Bridge | TQ154683 | Road | A309 | |
Tanner's Bridge | TQ145676 | Footbridge | [101] | |
Hersham Viaduct | TQ130656 | Railway | [102] | |
Albany Bridge | TQ130645 | Road | A244 | Named after the Duchess of Albany (resident of Claremont). Original wooden Victorian bridge replaced by a stone parapet bridge in 1907 and the present concrete bridge dates from 1965.[103] |
Burhill Bridge | TQ103623 | Road | A multi-span composite deck supported on steelwork tresses with a total span of 48 m (157 ft) and a main span of 22 m (72 ft) over the river itself. Constructed between January and March 2008, replacing an earlier bridge on the same site.[104] | |
A3 River Mole Bridge | TQ099609 | Road | A3 | Opened as part of the A3 Esher Bypass in December 1976.[105] |
Cobham Bridge | TQ099605 | Road | A245 | |
Painshill Park Bridge | TQ102602 | Footbridge | A part suspended steel and timber deck bridge, spanning 42 metres (138 ft). The bridge was designed by the architect Howard Humphreys and the westernmost section is a drawbridge which may be raised to prevent access to Painshill Park.[106] | |
Downside Bridge | TQ107595 | Road | The medieval bridge was rebuilt by Gwilt in 1786, but was washed away during the September 1968 floods. The present bridge opened in 1971.[103] | |
Ash Bridge | TQ120590 | Bridleway | River Lane, Stoke D'Abernon |
Built in 1990 to replace an existing ford.[107] |
Cobham Viaduct | Railway | New Guildford Line | The original viaduct was washed away by floods on 15 September 1968.[108] | |
Lane Viaduct | TQ131581 | Road | M25 | A seven-span 170 m long (190 yd) reinforced concrete viaduct, cast in situ in 1983–4.[109] |
Stoke D'Abernon Bridge | TQ132580 | Road | A245 | |
Railway Bridge | TQ160565 | Railway | Bookham Branch Line | |
Railway Bridge | TQ162564 | |||
Waterway Road Bridge | TQ162563 | Road | B2122 | |
Town Bridge | TQ163563 | |||
Thorncroft Bridge | TQ166558 | |||
Young Street Bridge | TQ164552 | Road | A246 | Concrete girder bridge.[110] |
Pressforward Bridge | TQ168544 | Road | Built c. 1790, strengthened and refurbished by Surrey County Council in 1990.[111] | |
Weir Bridge | TQ170537 | Road | Grade II listed. Early to mid-19th-century brick bridge with two semi-circular arches and one elliptical arch.[112] | |
Railway Bridge | TQ165538 | Railway | Epsom to Horsham line | |
Swanworth Bridge | TQ163534 | [113] | ||
Cowslip Bridge | TQ163529 | Road | ||
Railway Bridge | TQ166523 | Railway | Epsom to Horsham line | Three arch bridge |
Burford Bridge | TQ171519 | Road | A24 | |
Stepping Stones Footbridge | TQ173513 | Footbridge | North Downs Way | Erected in 1992 to replace the original bridge presented by the Ramblers' Association in memory of their members who died in the Second World War[114]
|
Stepping Stones | TQ172512 | Ford | North Downs Way | |
Deepdene Viaduct | TQ176504 | Railway | Guildford to Redhill Line | A five-arch brick viaduct constructed by the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway Company in 1847–48.[115]
|
Castle Mill Footbridge | TQ179502 | Footbridge | [116] | |
Boxhill Bridge | TQ184503 | Footbridge | The original road bridge on this site was destroyed during flooding in 1968.[87] | |
Deepdene Bridge | TQ187504 | Road | A25 | Opened in 1927 by Henry Cubitt, 2nd Baron Ashcombe.[117] |
Borough Bridge (Brockham) | TQ196497 | Road | A single track bridge built in 1737 by Richard and Thomas Skilton. The bridge was rebuilt in 1991.[118] | |
Betchworth Bridge | TQ212495 | Road | Single track bridge built in 1842 and refurbished in 1993.[119][120] | |
Rice Bridge | TQ223487 | Footbridge | [121] | |
Flanchford Bridge | TQ234480 | Road | [122] Flanchford Bridge was severely damaged by flooding in December 2013,[123] but was rebuilt. | |
Sidlow Bridge | TQ258470 | Road | A217 | [124] |
Lee Street Bridge | TQ269433 | Road | [125] | |
Long Bridge | TQ275425 | Road | A23 | [126] |
London Road Bridge | TQ275424 | Road | A23 | Built in 1957 as part of the scheme to divert the A23 around the eastern periphery of Gatwick Airport. The bridge has a 15 m (49 ft) span with mass concrete abutments and a pre-stressed concrete deck.[127] |
Gatwick Airport | TQ261402 | Runway and taxiways |
The river passes under the airport in a 425 m (465 yd) long concrete culvert with 50 cm (20 in) thick walls and roof. The culvert was constructed in 1957.[127] | |
Stafford Bridge | TQ252384 | Road | ||
Granthams Bridge | TQ232372 | Road | [128] | |
Lambs Green Bridge | TQ219371 | Road | [129] | |
Rusper Court Bridge | TQ208362 | Bridleway | [130] | |
Baldhorns Park Bridge | TQ203361 | Bridleway | ||
Source of River Mole | TQ203368 | Baldhorns Copse, Rusper, West Sussex |
Watermills
Domesday Book listed twenty mills on the River Mole in 1086.[10][11]
Upper Mole
Horley Mill was first mentioned in a deed of the early 13th century. The most recent mill was demolished in 1959, although the mill house still stands.[11]
The first mill at Sidlow was built during Saxon times. The final mill on the site was demolished in 1790, however remains of the mill leat are still visible.[11]
Mention is made of a mill at Brockham in 1634 and remains of the mill race are still visible.[11]
Castle Mill at Pixham is a Grade II listed building.[131] It was a corn mill, built in the early 19th century, and has been converted into a bed and breakfast hotel.[132]
Lower Mole
Slyfield Mill near Stoke d'Abernon is first mentioned in Domesday Book. It was used for fulling woollen cloth and milling corn.[11]
Five of the mills mentioned in Domesday Book were in the borough of Elmbridge.[10]
Downside Mill,
Cobham Mill, downstream of Leatherhead, consisted of two mills used for grinding corn. In 1953 the larger mill was demolished by Surrey County Council to allieviate traffic congestion on Mill Road. The remaining red brick mill dates from the 1822 and was in use until 1928. It was restored to full working order by the Cobham Mill Preservation Trust, and is now open to the public from 2 pm to 5 pm on the second Sunday of each month (between April and October).[133]
Esher Mill also known as Royal Mill was at the end of Mill Road in Lower Green, where there is now an industrial estate. It was used to process corn, brass wire, iron, paper, linoleum, and books.[134] For many years there may have been two mills on the site for corn grinding and industrial use. There were a series of fires over a century and after the last in 1978 the buildings were demolished.[135]
East Molesey Upper Mill was associated with the manor of Molesey Matham. It was used to produce gunpowder from the time of the Commonwealth until about 1780. The island where it stood now forms part of the ornamental gardens of a housing development called "The Wilderness".[136]
East Molesey Lower Mill, also known as Sterte Mill, was associated with the manor of Molesey Prior. During the Commonwealth it was used for gunpowder manufacture, but after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 it reverted to corn milling. An old timber structure was replaced by a brick building in the 1820s which can be seen from the bridge over the Ember in Hampton Court Way.[136]
In addition there was Ember Mill, which stood on the banks of the old course of the River Ember near Hampton Court Way.[136]
River Ember Flood Relief Channel and confluence with the Thames
The River Mole originally flowed into the River Thames at the point where the present Hampton Court bridge now crosses the Thames (approximately 500 m upstream of the present confluence, on the reach above Teddington Lock).
However, during the early 1930s, when Hampton Court Way and the bridge were built, the River Mole was redirected to flow into the River Ember and both rivers now enter the Thames in a single widened and straightened channel once occupied only by the River Ember. There have been further alterations to the courses of these two rivers in a major flood prevention scheme since serious flooding in the area in 1947 and 1968.[137]
Literature
The river has captured the imagination of several authors and poets,
In The Faerie Queene (first published in 1590) Edmund Spenser wrote of the river:
- And Mole, that like a nousling mole doth make
- His way still under ground till Thamis he overtake.[138]
In Poly-Olbion (first published in 1612) the poet Michael Drayton described the journey taken by the River Thames to the sea:
- As still his goodly traine yet every houre increast,
- And from the Surrian shores cleer Wey came down to meet
- His Greatnes, whom the Tames so gratiously doth greet
- That with the Fearne-crown'd Flood he Minion-like doth play:
- Yet is not this the Brook, entiseth him to stay.
- But as they thus, in pompe, came sporting on the shole,
- Gainst Hampton-Court he meets the soft and gentle Mole.
- Whose eyes so pierc't his breast, that seeming to foreslowe
- The way which he so long intended was to go,
- With trifling up and down, he wandreth here and there;
- And that he in her sight, transparent might appeare,
- Applyes himselfe to Fords, and setteth his delight,
- On that which might make him gratious in her sight.[139]
- But Tames would hardly on: oft turning back to show,
- For his much loved Mole how loth he was to go.
- The mother of the Mole, old Holmsdale, likewise beares
- Th'affection of her childe, as ill as they do theirs:
- But Mole respects her words, as vaine and idle dreames,
- Compar'd with that high joy, to be belov'd of Tames:
- And head-long holds her course, his company to win.
- Mole digs her selfe a path, by working day and night
- (According to her name, to shew her nature right)
- And underneath the Earth, for three miles space doth creep:
- Till gotten out of sight, quite from her mothers keep,
- Her foreintended course the wanton Nymph doth run;
- As longing to imbrace old Tame and Isis son...[140]
He writes in the appendix to Song XVII
This Mole runnes into the earth, about a mile from Darking in Surrey, and after some two miles sees the light againe, which to be certaine hath been affirmed by Inhabitants thereabout reporting triall made of it.
John Milton (c. 1562–1647) described the river as
- sullen Mole that runneth underneath
In a similar vein, Alexander Pope (1688–1744) wrote in his poem Windsor Forest (first published 1713)
- And sullen Mole that hides his diving flood
Robert Bloomfield (1766–1823) writes the following lines about the Mole Valley in his 1806 poem Wild Flowers.
- Sweet Health, I seek thee! Hither bring
- Thy balm that softens human ills;
- Come on the long drawn clouds that fling
- Their shadows o'er the Surry-Hills.
- Yon green-topt hills, and far away
- Where late as now I freedom stole,
- And spent one dear delicious day
- On thy wild banks romantic Mole.
- Ay there's the scene! Beyond the sweep
- Of London's congregated cloud,
- The dark-brow'd wood, the headlong steep,
- And valley paths without a crowd!
- Here Thames I watch thy flowing tides,
- Thy thousand sails am proud to see;
- But where the Mole all silent glides
- Dwells Peace - and Peace is wealth to me.[141]
Extract from The River Mole or Emlyn Stream by Mary Drinkwater Bethune, which was published in 1839.[note 8]
- Who may count back that forgotten time
- When first the waters forced an outlet here:
- When the foundations of these stedfast hills
- Were shaken, and the long imprisoned stream
- Flowed through the yawning chasm? That awful day
- Yet leaves its trace. The waters find their way,
- Now laughing in the sun - now swallowed up
- In caverns pervious to their course alone,
- They leave their channel dry, and hide awhile
- Their silent flow; like bitter tears, unshed
- From the dim eye, before a careless world
- Unheeding of our grief; but swelling still
- In the full heart, which leaves unsoothed, unseen,
- And broods o'er ruined hopes, and days gone by.
Tributaries
The major tributaries of the River Mole are the Ifield Brook, Gatwick Stream, Earlswood Brook, Pipp Brook and The Rye, which drains Ashtead. A full list of the tributaries is given in the table below.
Table of tributaries of the River Mole | |
---|---|
Left | Right |
Confluence with East Molesey
| |
River Ember as tributary | |
Dead River | |
River Ember distributary | |
Cobham | |
Bookham Brook | |
Pachesham Brook | |
The Rye | |
Fetcham Mill Stream | |
Mole Gap | |
Pipp Brook | |
Tanner's Brook | |
Shag Brook | |
Gad Brook | |
Wallace Brook | |
Leigh Brook | |
Baldhorns Brook | |
Deanoak Brook | |
Sidlow | |
Earlswood Brook | |
Salfords Stream | |
Burstow Stream | |
Spencer's Gill | |
Hookwood Common Stream | |
Gatwick Stream | |
Mans Brook | |
Runway of Gatwick Airport | |
Crawter's Brook | |
Ifield Brook | |
Reubens Gill | |
Source at Rusper, West Sussex |
Distributary
See also
- List of rivers in England
- Tributaries of the River Thames
Notes
- ^ The gauging station south of Gatwick Airport was installed in 2005, replacing an earlier station located 200 m (220 yd) downstream.
- ^ A principal tributary of the Earlswood Brook is the Redhill Brook, which includes The Moors wetland nature reserve within its catchment area.
- ^ The Pipp Brook drains the northernmost heavily wooded slopes of Leith Hill (which include Squire's Great Wood and Abinger Forest), as well as areas of Wotton, Westcott and Dorking.
- ^ The Mole descends 15 m [49 ft] in the 10 km [6 mi] stretch between Brockham and Leatherhead, compared to 3 m [9.8 ft] in 19 km [12 mi] between Horley and Brockham.
- ^ The undershot wheel at Painshill Park was restored in 1987 and is located at the end of an artificial leat, rather than on the main river channel.
- years ago
- ^ The prefix of the former hundred and present borough of Elmbridge, which is referred to as Emley Bridge in some 19th-century records, probably also has its origins in the Old English word æmen.
- ^ Mary Drinkwater Bethune was the daughter of the English army officer and military historian Colonel John Drinkwater Bethune, who lived at Thorncroft Manor, Leatherhead, from 1836 to 1844.[142] Mary Drinkwater Bethune married Norman Uniacke at St George's, Hanover Square in September 1844.[143]
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External links